Waiting in the Lexington, KY airport terminal for my flight home from the Rural College Access and Success Summit, I can’t help but reflect on the past few days meeting educators dedicated to rural issues.
I was heartened by the work of GEAR UP advisors from multiple states encouraging college aspirations among rural middle schoolers, but I was also reminded of the challenges our most remote counselors and students face, be it transportation issues, lack of curricular options, fewer students going on to college, or retention of teachers. For sure, unique barriers in rural spaces persist, and we must tackle them head-on.
For non-native English speakers, figuring out the college admission process often has an additional layer of challenges.
Robbie Cupps, a college and career counselor at Capital High School (ID), works in the Boise School District, which has a significant population of Spanish-speaking students.
Working with these students, she knew she had to take a different approach and a grant from the NACAC Imagine Fund helped make it possible.
Register now for NACAC’s 40th Annual Guiding the Way to Inclusion and join hundreds of professionals responsible for multicultural recruiting, increasing access to higher education, and creating campuses strengthened by students with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
The workshop will be held in Fort Lauderdale, FL on July 28-31.
Earlier this week, attendees at the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) 2019 annual meeting in Los Angeles spoke for the first time at a national event about the “Operation Varsity Blues” bribery scandal.
As part of a panel that included Tammy Aagard, associate vice president for enrollment management at the University of Florida and AACRAO board member, and Phil Ballinger, associate vice provost for enrollment management at the University of Washington, I had the opportunity to provide an update on NACAC’s activities to date, and to hear questions and concerns from the admission officers in attendance.
Celebrating our members and their accomplishments is a highlight of our work at NACAC. From receiving commendations to landing new jobs to publishing books about the admission process, NACAC members gave us a lot to cheer for in the first quarter of 2019.
The Phi Beta Kappa Society hosted a special extended episode of their Key Conversations podcast this week all about the bribery scandal.
Fred Lawrence, the secretary and CEO of Phi Beta Kappa, Andrew Flagel, a vice president at the American Association of Colleges and Universities, and David Hawkins, NACAC’s executive director for educational content and policy, spoke about the issues the recent scandal has brought to light.
Michelle Obama’s Becoming proved to be the perfect launching off point for a robust discussion of college access and completion, ways to support first-generation and marginalized students, and a counselor’s role in these goals.
In a #NACACreads Twitter chat Tuesday night, Eric Waldo, the executive director of Reach Higher, shared his insights on these subjects and more. Reach Higher was founded by Mrs. Obama and Waldo has traveled with the former first lady during her recent Becoming book tour.
The Phi Beta Kappa Society hosted a special extended episode of their 
